Desert Tortoise Prediction Contest for Students Begins
For the 10th consecutive year, students across Southern California have a chance to predict when Mojave Maxine — a desert tortoise at The Living Zoo in Palm Desert — will emerge from her annual slumber.
The contest is open to K-12 students from Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties, who are asked to predict when the 40-year-old tortoise will emerge from her brumation — or reptilian hibernation.
The first entry from each county that is closest to the exact date and time will win that student a $50 gift certificate, a Federal Lands Pass, a visit from a desert tortoise, Mojave Maxine T-shirts for his or her entire class and a $100 gift certificate for the student’s teacher In addition to signaling the start of spring, zoo officials say the contest boosts awareness of the tortoise’s threatened status.
“In addition to being a fun contest that engages school children, Mojave Maxine is a wonderful ambassador for The Living Desert,” said Dr. James Danoff-Burg, the zoo’s director of conservation. “The Desert Tortoise population is threatened, so she serves as a reminder to conserve and protect our land and desert animals.’
Desert tortoises typically enter brumation around Thanksgiving. They burrow underground based on outside temperatures and emerge when warmer spring days arrive.
Students can submit their entries and keep tabs on Maxine through a live feed of her habitat on the zoo’s website at www.livingdesert.org/mojave-maxine.
